Product Information

Publisher's Description

From New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado comes a timeless message that will warm your heart.

Imagine a Victorian England village in the Cotswolds where very little out of the ordinary ever happens . . . except at Christmas time.

This year, Edward Haddington, a lowly candle maker, is visited by a mysterious angel. That angel silently imparts a precious gifta gift thats bungled and subsequently lost. The candle maker and his wife, Bea, struggle to find the gift.

And when they do, they have to make a difficult choice. Who among their community is most in need of a Christmas miracle?

BONUS: Includes a sneak preview of Maxs novel, Miracle at the Higher Grounds Caf&eacute;!

Author Bio

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With more than 130 million products in print, Max Lucado is America's bestselling inspirational author. He serves the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Denalyn, and their mischievous mutt, Andy.

ChristianBookPreviews.com

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Is it a hoax, a random coincidence, mere wishful thinking, or is the Haddington candle a genuine miracle from God? This is the crux of Max Lucado's holiday story The Christmas Candle.
In an opening flashback to Christmas of 1664, a voiceless creature (an angel?) makes a nocturnal visit to the home and candle making shop of the Haddingtons and puts a blessing on one particular candle. The next day, this couple gives the special candle to a woman they meet at church who is in dire straits. Lo and behold, within a day that poor woman inherits a prosperous farm and gains a marvelous income. And so begins the legacy of the candle that can cause miracles.
Thereafter, once every 25 years the mysterious night visitor comes and blesses one candle in the shop of the Haddingtons' descendents. When that candle is given away, the recipient offers prayers to God, and those prayers are miraculously granted...or are they, really?
By 1864 when the little village of Gladstone, England gets a new parson for the first time in 50 years, speculation arises as to the validity of the claims of the Haddington candles. The young reverend has an Oxford degree and is not inclined to fall in line with belief in old fables and rural legends. In fact, he breaks all tradition by refusing to preach about the candle at Christmas service, despite the fact that this is the very year the miracle is scheduled to take place again.
However, the visage does come and it does bless another Haddington candle. But poor old clumsy Edward Haddington accidentally knocks over a basket of candles and no long can be sure which candle is the genuinely blessed candle. Villages assail the Haddingtons, begging to receive the blessed candle as a cure-all for their problems with drunken husbands, failed crops, unpaid rent, poor eyesight, and children at sea. Unable to resist the villagers, Edward and his wife Bea give a candle to all of them, knowing that one will be blessed but many others will be disappointed.
To their amazement, on Christmas Eve each villager reports that his or her prayers have been answered. Thus, it would seem that the candles have no real power, only the heartfelt prayers of believers.
But this is Max Lucado, so there is still one big surprise yet to come in the end. It will leave you, the reader, believing in Christmas miracles.  Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, Christian Book Previews.com

Beginning in 1664, The Christmas Candle tell the story of a family of candle makers that are visited every twenty five years by an angel that bless a candle. The candle is then given away to a person in great need and when that person lights this candle and then prays, whatever they have prayed for is granted to them.

It is 1864 and Edward Haddington and his wife Bea are last of the candle makers line. With no offspring, they are aware that this will be the last year that an angel will bless one of their candles. When the night arrives, Edward watches closely to see which candle the angel touchs but as he rises to retrieve it, he trips, spilling the box of candles. Neither he nor Bea know which candle is the special one. Then as the day approaches to give the candle away, and they are flooded with neighbors all asking for the blessed candle. Not knowing what to do, Edward and Bea give away all thirty candle to anyone that asks. No knowing who will be the blessed person, Edward and Bea know that Christmas is a time for Miracles.

I love this book. It is the perfect book to sit down with when you need a small break during the holidays. It will encourage you and remind you that joy is found in God and miracles come in all shapes and forms.

The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado is a short Christmas novella. It was a really quick read, and a good first Christmas read of the season! While the story was very sweet, I found it to be quite confusing at the beginning. I just could not figure out exactly what was happening. I eventually caught on, but it was a little frustrating. I also got confused with ALL of the characters. There were a lot of them and they were just barely developed. I mean, the book is less than 200 pages, so it's not a lot of time to tell a story and let readers get to know a slew of characters. When it was all said and done, I did enjoy the book and really liked the message. The book has recently been made into a movie as well, and I'm hoping to go see it. It will be interesting to see how the movie compares to the book. [3 stars]

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program in exchange for my fair and honest review.

It only took me one afternoon to read "The Christmas Candle" by Max LucadoÃ¢â¬âten short chapters with a thought-provoking message about Whom we put our trust in when we pray. I liked this story.

Set mostly in 1864, it's the story of a town with a legacy. Every 25 years, on the fourth Sunday of Advent, an angel visits their candle maker and touches one candle. This candle brings a blessing to one chosen person. 1864 is the year of the next visit.

But this town also has a new minister who is a bit skeptical, refusing to cooperate with the traditions that have grown up around the angel's visit. Discussions about this leave both townspeople and minister confused. To complicate matters, everyone wants the blessing of the candle this year and the candle maker has no son to carry on the legacy in 1889. The Christmas candle has brought everyone so much to fret about.

I recommend "The Christmas Candle" by Max Lucado to those who enjoy Christmas novellas with hopeful messages. The Victorian England setting, the way the characters communicated with each other even when they disagreed, the pace of the book, and the outcome were all just right. I enjoyed reading this book.

I received a complimentary eCopy of "The Christmas Candle" in exchange for this honest review.